Fiat Qubo 1.3 MultiJet Dynamic

Report by Charis Whitcombe

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Seriously, this is one odd-looking car. I call it a car, because that's what Fiat likes to call it, but in truth it's a van. Don't get me wrong - I like vans. I like the space, the high seating position, the fabulous visibility and huge, elephant-ear wing mirrors, and best of all I like the price. Our test model, a 1.3 Multijet diesel in the upmarket 'Dynamic' trim, costs £12,350 OTR but the Qubo range starts at £9750. It's a wee bit agricultural, yes, but it's also honest and jolly good fun to drive. You might not impress your flashier mates, but you won't half impress the young farmers. Oh yes.

In the rear seats, there's plenty of headroom and acres of legroom and simply enormous access via those sliding side doors. If only cars had some of the more desirable van-like qualities, such as slidey doors and huge wing mirrors. Those doors mean you can squash yourself into a diddy little car-parking space, and your rear passengers can get in and out without chipping anyone's paint, while loading really huge items is a doddle - either from the side, or via the gargantuan tailgate.

We have a tatty old narrow boat, and boats get wet and rot, and ours needs a new kitchen floor. (Yes, it's a kitchen, not a galley. A yacht has a galley. A yacht also has port and starboard, prow and stern, while on the canal it's a no-nonsense left, right, front and back. Gottit?) Anyway, we had some marine ply cut to fit the space, and the biggest bit was an awkward L-shaped thing, measuring 1419mm by 1197mm. We couldn't fit it in a Honda Jazz, despite the roof height and luggage space, but bingo; it went smoothly into the back of the Qubo, no problem at all. We could probably have taken the whole kitchen along with it.

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